Decoy



L. BACHOL DECOY.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-,3- 1917.

1,306,655. Patented June 10, 1919.

Jam'sfim UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

Louis nacno, or ALEXANDRIA, LOUISIANA.

DECOY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J ine 10 1919.

Application filed February a, 1917. serial No. 146,378.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lon-rs BACHO, a citizen of the United States, residing at Alexandria, in Rapides parish and State of Louisiana, have invented certain useful Improvements in Decoys, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had same time serving to facilitate the balancing of the body when positioned in the water,

It is an additional and equally important object. of this invention to provide novel flexible means for engagement at various points on the body to further facilitate the balancing of the body.

As a further object, the invention embraces the construction of the body having means for facilitating movement of the body from place to place when positioned in the water. A more specific object of the present invention consists of .the provision and means for guiding the stuifing material into the body as wellas for retaining the stuiiing means in the body; and to rovide means whereby the device may be either anchored or drawn through the water.

Among the other aims and objects of the present invention, may be recited the provision-of a device of the character mentioned with a view to compactness, and in which the number of parts are few, the construction simple, the cost of production low and the efficiency high.

Still further objects, as well as the nature,

characteristic features and scope of my 1nvention will be more readily apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims forming a part of this specification.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which;

Figure 1 is a side elevation ofmy inventron, partly in longitudinal sectio .Fig. 2 is a bottom plan'thereo Fig. 3 is atransverse section taken 'on line 33 of Fig. 1 in the direction in which the arrows point.

Fig. 4 is a plan of the blank of the materialfrom which the device is formed.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts.

Referring now, more particularly, to the accompanylng drawings I provide a decoy shaped to resemble a duck including a body 1 having a neck 2 extending therefrom upon which is formed a head 3. The entire body is cut from a piece of waterproof material et while the body, head and neck are made from two separate-pieces indicated by the numeral 5, said pieces being first stitched together and then turned inside out so that the seams will be on the inside of the body and thereby present a smooth surface on the outside.

With a view toward maintaining the body in an extended form and rendering it bouyant I haveused a filling of ground cork 6, a tube 7 being connected to the bottom of the body to permit of the filling and packing of the ground cork within the head, neck and body. A stopper 8 which may be and preferably is of cork is mounted in the outer end of the tube to retain the ground cork within the body. Subsequent to filling of the body it is pressed to assume a substantial oval shape configuration while the under surface ofthe body is provided with a longitudinal curved bottomed groove 9 which extends from the tube 7 to the rear end of the body to facilitate the movement of the body through the water.

In order to facilitate the balancing of the body I have provided'my improved balancing means which in the present instance consist of relatively soft flexible flanges 10 which are formed from the same piece of material as the body, being secured at one longitudinal edge adjacent the top and on both sides of the body so as to extend laterally therefrom when the body is in the water and serve as wings. It is to be appreciated mediate its length by the tube.

straddled upon the rear end of the body as indicated by the numeral 12 while the outer portion of this flange constitutes a tail and incidentally prevents the body from becoming unbalanced. A keel 13 is also cut from the same piece of material as the body and preferably is of a crescent shaped configuration, being secured to the under surface of the bottom and longitudinally thereof and also connected in any suitable manner to one side portion of the tube 7 so as to be braced at a point substantially inter- Cooperating with the flange 11 is another flange or tab 14 which is secured as at 15 to the breast or front end of the body 1 and is adapted to extend laterally therefrom when the body is positioned in the water to reduce lengthwise tip ing of the body to a minimum. An eye et 16 is mounted in the outer end of this flange or tab and permits of the connection of a piece of string or the like, (not shown) to consequently permit of the body being drawn through the water orv else a nail, (not shown) may be passed through the eyelet to anchor the decoy in a predetermined position. Subsequent to the assembling-0f the decoy in the manner described the body, neck and head as Well as the wing and tail flanges may be painted to resemble a duck and thereby lend to the attractiveness of the device.

From the foregoing description it is thought that a detailed description of the operation is unnecessary. Likewise it is thought that the advantages of the invention will be readily apparent. For instance should any of the parts become punctured it will not collapse as is customary of pneumatic decoys and the puncture may be easily remedied by securing-a piece of adhesive tape thereover.

It will be understood that the above description and accompanying drawings comprehend only the general and preferred embodiment of my invention and that various minor changes in detail of construction, proportion and arrangement of the parts may be made within the scope of the appended claims and without sacrificing any of the advantages of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A decoy including a buoyant body and relatively soft flexible flanges shaped to resemble wings connected to the sides of the body-and extensible when the body is placed in the water to prevent undue sidewise tipping of the body and being also collapsible against the sides of the body when the body is removed from the water.

2. A decoy including a buoyant body, a relatively soft flexible flange connected to the rear-end thereof and serving as a tail, and another relatively soft flexible flange connected to the front end of the body and cooperating with the first mentioned flange to reduce lengthwise tipping of the body to 1 formation and render it buoyant, a filling tube connected to the under surface of the body, and a longitudinal keel connected to the under surface of the body and to the tube so as to be braced by the tube.

. In testimony whereof I aflix my signature. LOUIS BACHO. 

